Credit intermediary system, credit intermediary apparatus and method thereof, recording medium and program

ABSTRACT

An affiliated store terminal obtains a security code and a card holder&#39;s attribution information of a credit card, such as a card holder&#39;s attribution information consists of a date of birth, lower four figures of a home telephone number, a last name and a first name of a card holder. An authorization request transmitted from the affiliated terminal is transmitted to a card company apparatus, and further transmitted to a card issuing company apparatus through an intermediary center apparatus. The card company apparatus executes an authorization process and return a result of the authorization process to the affiliated store terminal through the intermediary center apparatus and the previous card company apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a credit intermediary system, acredit intermediary apparatus and a method thereof, a recording mediumand a program. More particularly, the present invention relates to acredit intermediary system, a credit intermediary apparatus and a methodthereof, a recording medium and a program that enable a credit cardcompany to easily perform crediting process.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004]FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of an information processingsystem adapted for using a credit card in related art. According to thisconfiguration example, terminals A1 to A3 of affiliated stores of acompany A which issued credit cards are disposed in predeterminedstores. In the same way, affiliated store terminals B1 to B3 of acompany B and affiliated store terminals C1 to C3 of a company C aredisposed in predetermined stores, respectively.

[0005] These affiliated store terminals A1 to C3 are connected to aCAFIS (Credit And Finance Information System) 1 through a network 3.

[0006] Card company apparatuses 2A to 2C, which are administrated by thecompany A, the B company and the company C, are also connected to theCAFIS 1 through the network 3.

[0007] Next, processes of the system shown in FIG. 1 are explained withreference to flow charts shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6 below. FIG. 2 showsprocesses of the affiliated store terminals A1 to C3, FIG. 3 showsprocess of a card company apparatus corresponding to the affiliatedstore, to which a user shows an intention to use a credit card, (i.e., auser's card company apparatus) among the card company apparatuses 2A to2C, FIG. 4 shows process of the CAFIS 1 and FIG. 5 shows process of thecard company apparatus (i.e. a card issuing company apparatus), whichissued the credit card to the user.

[0008] Additionally, FIG. 6 shows a relation of the processes of theseaffiliated store terminals, the user's card company apparatus, the CAFISand the card issuing company apparatus.

[0009] At the beginning, with reference to the flow charts shown in FIG.2 and FIG. 6, the process of the affiliated store terminal is explainedbelow. As a matter of convenience for the explanation, it is assumedthat at the present moment, the user uses a credit card, which is issuedby the company B and is also capable of being used with the affiliatedstore terminal of the company A, at the store in which the affiliatedstore terminal A1 is placed.

[0010] If the user intends to purchase a commodity by the use of one'sown credit card at the store in which the affiliated store terminal A1is placed, the affiliated store terminal A1 reads a card number, anexpiration date and an issuer from the credit card of this user in stepS1. In step S2, the affiliated store terminal A1 sends a request for aauthorization to the user's card company (in this case, the card companyapparatus 2A of the company A administrating the affiliated storeterminal A1) through the network 3. The authorization request is sentwith the card number, the expiration date and the issuer, which are readin the process of the step S1.

[0011] After requesting the authorization as described above, a resultof the authorization (authorization result) is transmitted from the cardcompany apparatus 2A, which is one of the user's card companyapparatuses (step S15 in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6). The details of anauthorization process will be described later.

[0012] In step S3, the store terminal A1 receives the authorizationresult, which has been transmitted from the card company apparatus 2A.

[0013] Further, in step S4, the store terminal A1 determines whether ornot the authorization result, which has been received in the process ofthe step S3, indicates that the transaction by the user's credit card isauthorized (authorization OK). If the authorization result is theauthorization OK, the process proceeds to step S5 and the store terminalA1 carries out procedures to complete a sale transaction (salesprocess). If the authorization result is not the authorization OK (i.e.,in the case of authorization NG), the process proceeds to step S6 andthe store terminal A1 carries out procedures to refuse a saletransaction (sales refusal process).

[0014] Next, with reference to the flow charts in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, theprocessing of the store terminal A2, which is one of user's card companyapparatuses, is explained.

[0015] In step S11, the card company apparatus 2A receives the requestfrom the store terminal A1. This request is transmitted in the step S2shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 6.

[0016] In step S12, the card company apparatus 2A determines whether ornot the card company has authority to perform the authorization on thebasis of this request. Typically, the card apparatus of the company thathas issued the credit card only has such authority. Accordingly, forexample, in the case that the authorization of the credit card issued bythe company A is requested, the process proceeds to step S16 and thecard company apparatus 2A carries out the authorization process.

[0017] However, since the authorization of the credit card, which isissued by the company B, is requested in this case, the card companyapparatus 2A forwards the authorization request to the CAFIS 1.

[0018] In this case, as described later with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the authorization result istransferred from the CAFIS 1 (step S25 shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6).

[0019] Therefore, in step S14, the card company apparatus 2A receivesthe authorization result, which has been transferred from the CAFIS 1.

[0020] After that, proceeding to step S15, the card company apparatus 2Atransfers the authorization result that is received in the step S14 orauthorization result that is executed by the card company apparatus 2Aitself in the step S16 to the store terminal A1.

[0021] Next, with reference to the flow charts shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.6, the process of the CAFIS 1 is explained below. Receiving the theauthorization request forwarded from the card company apparatus 2A,which is one of the user's card company apparatuses, in step S21, theCAFIS 1 confirms an issuing company that issued this credit card in stepS22. It is possible to confirm the issuing company from the card number.Then, in step S23, the card company apparatus 2A further forwards theauthorization request to the issuing company that is confirmed in thestep 22.

[0022] The card company apparatus 2B, which is one of the card issuingcompanies and to which the authorization is forwarded, executes theauthorization process and transmits the authorization result (steps S32and S22 shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6).

[0023] Therefore, in step S24, the CAFIS 1 receives the authorizationresult that has been transmitted from the card company apparatus 2B.Then, in the step S25, the CAFIS 1 transfers the authorization resultthat is received in the step S24 to the card company apparatus 2A, whichis one of the user's card company apparatuses.

[0024] Next, with reference to the flow charts shown in FIG. 5 and FIG.6, the processing of card company apparatus 2B, which is one of the cardissuing companies, is explained below. In step S31, receiving there-forwarded request from the CAFIS 1, the card company apparatus 2Bexecutes the authorization process in accordance with this reception instep S32. Then, in step S33, the card company apparatus 2B transmits theauthorization result to the CAFIS 1.

[0025] This authorization result is transferred from the CAFIS 1 to thecard company apparatus 2A (the step S25), and it is further transferredfrom the card company apparatus 2A to the store terminal A1 (the stepS15).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0026] As described above, in the system used in the related art, eachcredit card company is required to create programs for determiningwhether or not the company has the power to authorize, forwarding andadministrating forwarding electronic messages so as to receive theelectronic message to be forwarded in its own system. Accordingly, heavyburden in cost and labor rests on each credit card company. Such burdenis created at each card company (1) every time when an order andconfiguration of a credit electronic message, which is exchanged betweenrespective credit card companies, is changed and (2) every time when thenumber of affiliated credit card companies is increased or decreased.

[0027] Accordingly, there is a need for providing a credit intermediaryapparatus to mediate authorization for alleviating such a burden of eachcard issuing company.

[0028] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a creditintermediary system is provided. In the credit intermediary system, afirst information processing apparatus transmits a credit electronicmessage including a credit card number to a second informationprocessing apparatus. The second information processing apparatusdetermines an issuing credit company that issued the credit card on thebasis of the credit card number included in the credit electronicmessage received and transmits the credit electronic message to a thirdinformation processing apparatus disposed in the issuing credit company.The third information processing apparatus executes an authorizationprocess on the basis of the credit electronic message received andtransmits a result of authorization process to the second informationprocessing apparatus. The second information processing apparatustransmits the result of authorization process received to the firstinformation processing apparatus.

[0029] According to another embodiment of the present invention, acredit intermediary apparatus is provided. The credit intermediaryapparatus comprises a receiving unit for receiving a credit electronicmessage including a credit card number from one of the user's creditcard company system and the affiliated store system, a credit requestunit for determining an issuing credit company that issued the creditcard on the basis of the credit card number included in the creditelectronic message that is received by the receiving unit, outputting acredit electronic message corresponding to the credit electronic messageto the issuing credit company system for requesting an authorization,and a transmitting unit for receiving a result of authorization processwith regards to the authorization requested by the credit request unitfrom the issuing credit company system, and transmitting the result ofauthorization process to one of the user's credit card company systemand the affiliated store system.

[0030] The credit electronic message may include at least one of a cardholder's attribution (user attribution) information or a security codeof the credit card.

[0031] The user attribution information may include at least one ofinformation with respect to a birth date of a card holder of the creditcard, information with respect to a telephone number of the card holder,information with respect to a last name of the card holder andinformation with respect to a first name of the card holder.

[0032] According to another embodiment of the present invention, acredit intermediary method is provided. The credit intermediary methodcomprises a receiving step for receiving a credit electronic messageincluding a credit card number from one of a user's credit card companysystem and a affiliated store system, a credit requesting step fordetermining an issuing credit company that issued the credit card on thebasis of the credit card number included in the credit electronicmessage that is received in the receiving step, outputting a creditelectronic message corresponding to the credit electronic message to theissuing credit company system for requesting an authorization, and atransmitting step for receiving a result of authorization process withregards to the authorization requested in the credit request step fromthe issuing credit company system, and transmitting the result ofauthorization process to one of the user's credit card company systemand the affiliated store system.

[0033] According to another embodiment of the present invention, aprogram or a recording medium in which the program is recorded. Theprogram comprises a receiving step for receiving a credit electronicmessage including a credit card number from one of the user's creditcard company system and the affiliated store system, a credit requestingstep for determining an issuing credit company that issued the creditcard on the basis of the credit card number included in the creditelectronic message that is received in the receiving step, outputting acredit electronic message corresponding to the credit electronic messageto the issuing credit company system for requesting an authorization,and a transmitting step for receiving a result of authorization processwith regards to the authorization requested in the credit request stepfrom the issuing credit company system, and transmitting the result ofauthorization to one of the user's credit card company system and theaffiliated store system.

[0034] In the credit intermediary system according to one embodiment ofthe present invention, the first information processing apparatustransmits a credit electronic message including a credit card number tothe second information processing apparatus. The second informationprocessing apparatus determines an issuing credit company that issuedthe credit card on the basis of the credit card number included in thereceived credit electronic message and transmits the credit electronicmessage to the third information processing apparatus of the issuingcredit company. The third information processing apparatus performs theauthorization process on the basis of the received credit electronicmessage and transmits the result of credit authorization process to thesecond information processing apparatus. The second informationprocessing apparatus transmits the received credit result to the firstinformation processing apparatus. Accordingly, the present inventionenables to realize a system that can alleviating burden of the creditauthorization processing in a credit card issuing company.

[0035] In the credit intermediary apparatus and a method thereof, arecording medium and a program according to embodiments of the presentinvention, an issuing credit company that issued the credit card isdetermined on the basis of the credit card number included in the creditelectronic message that is received from the user's credit card companysystem or the affiliated store system. A credit electronic messagecorresponding to the received credit electronic message is outputted tothe issuing credit company system and a authorization process isrequested. A result of the credit authorization process from the issuingcredit company system is transmitted to the user's credit card companysystem or the affiliated store system. Accordingly, the presentinvention enables to alleviate burden of the credit authorizationprocessing in a credit card issuing company which requests intermediaryservice of the credit authorization to the credit intermediaryapparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] The above and other objects, features and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the followingdescription of the presently preferred exemplary embodiments of theinvention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0037]FIG. 1 is a block diagram for showing a configuration of aninformation processing system in related art;

[0038]FIG. 2 is a flow chart for explaining the process of an affiliatedstore terminal of the system shown in FIG. 1;

[0039]FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the process of a user's cardcompany of the system shown in FIG. 1;

[0040]FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the process of a CAFIS ofthe system shown in FIG. 1;

[0041]FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the process of a cardissuing company apparatus of the system shown in FIG. 1;

[0042]FIG. 6 is an arrow chart for explaining the process the systemshown in FIG. 1;

[0043]FIG. 7 is a block diagram for showing a configuration example ofan information processing system, to which the present invention isapplied;

[0044]FIG. 8 is a block diagram for showing a configuration of thecredit intermediary center apparatus of the system shown in FIG. 7;

[0045]FIG. 9 is a flow chart for explaining the process of theaffiliated store terminal of the system shown in FIG. 7;

[0046]FIG. 10 is a flow chart for explaining the process of the user'scard company apparatus of the system shown in FIG. 7;

[0047]FIG. 11 is a flow chart for explaining the process of the creditintermediary center apparatus of the system shown in FIG. 7;

[0048]FIG. 12 is a flow chart for explaining the process of the cardissuing company apparatus of the system shown in FIG. 7;

[0049]FIG. 13 is an arrow chart for explaining the processes of theaffiliated store terminal, the user's card company apparatus, the creditintermediary center apparatus and the card issuing company apparatus ofthe system shown in FIG. 7;

[0050]FIG. 14 is an arrow chart for explaining the processes of theaffiliated store terminal, the user's card company apparatus, the creditintermediary center apparatus and the card issuing company apparatus ofthe system shown in FIG. 7;

[0051]FIG. 15 is a view for showing an example of a store table;

[0052]FIG. 16 is a view for showing an example of an intermediary centerdatabase;

[0053]FIG. 17 is a view for showing an example of a card company master;

[0054]FIG. 18 is a view for showing an example of a D/e-SCOTT master;

[0055]FIG. 19 is a view for showing a format of an electronic message;

[0056]FIG. 20 is a view for explaining a definition of a field of theelectronic message shown in FIG. 19;

[0057]FIG. 21 is a view for showing an example of a matching resultcode;

[0058]FIG. 22 is a view for showing an example of an electronic messageof the authorization;

[0059]FIG. 23 is a view for showing an example of an electronic messagethat the authorization is cancelled;

[0060]FIG. 24 is a flow chart for explaining other process of the creditintermediary center apparatus of the system shown in FIG. 7;

[0061]FIG. 25 is an arrow chart for explaining the processes of theaffiliated store terminal, the user's card company apparatus, the creditintermediary center apparatus and the card issuing company apparatus ofthe system shown in FIG. 7; and

[0062]FIG. 26 is an arrow chart for explaining the processes of theaffiliated store terminal, the user's card company apparatus, the creditintermediary center apparatus and the card issuing company apparatus ofthe system shown in FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0063]FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of an information processingsystem, to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 7, to theparts corresponding to FIG. 1, the corresponding reference numerals aregiven. According to this configuration example, the affiliated storeterminals A1 to C3 constructing the affiliated store system and the cardcompany apparatuses 2A to 2C constructing the credit card company systemare also connected to the network 3 which may be Internet and/ortelephone circuits. According to one embodiment of the presentinvention, a credit intermediary apparatus 11 is connected to thisnetwork 3.

[0064]FIG. 8 shows a configuration example of the credit intermediaryapparatus 11.

[0065] In FIG. 8, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21 executes variousprocessing in accordance with a program which is stored in a ROM (ReadOnly Memory) 22 or a program which is loaded in a RAM (Random AccessMemory) 23 from a storage unit 28. The RAM 23 also stores appropriatedata or the like, which is required for CPU 21 to execute variousprocessing.

[0066] The CPU 21, the ROM 22 and the RAM 23 are connected with eachother through a bus 24. An input/output interface 25 is also connectedto this bus 24.

[0067] To the input/output interface 25, an input unit 26 consisting ofa keyboard and a mouse or the like, a display consisting of a CRT and aLCD or the like, an output unit 27 consisting of a speaker or the like,the storage unit 28 consisting of a hard disk or the like and acommunication unit 29 consisting of a modem and a terminal adapter orthe like is connected. The communication unit 29 performs thecommunication processing through the network 3 including the Internet.

[0068] Depending on an application, a drive 30 is connected to theinput/output interface 25 and further, a magnetic disk 41, an opticaldisk 42, an optical magnetic disk 43, or a semiconductor memory 44 areappropriately disposed in the input/output interface 25. Then, acomputer program, which is read out from them, is installed in thestorage unit 28 according to need.

[0069] Although the illustrations thereof are omitted, the affiliatedstore terminals A1 to C3 and the card company apparatuses 2A to 2C areconstituted basically in the same way as the credit intermediaryapparatus 11. FIG. 8 is also cited as one example of configuration ofthe affiliated store terminals A1 to C3 and the card company apparatuses2A to 2C in the following explanation.

[0070] Next, with reference to the flow charts shown in FIG. 9 to FIG.14, the operation of the information processing system shown in FIG. 7is described below. FIG. 9 shows processing of the affiliated storeterminal included in the affiliated store system, FIG. 10 showsprocessing of the user's card company apparatus included the user'scredit card company system, FIG. 11 shows processing of the creditintermediary apparatus 11 included in the credit intermediary system,and FIG. 12 shows processing of the card issuing company apparatusincluded in a card issuing company system. Additionally, FIG. 13 andFIG. 14 represent relations between the processing of these affiliatedstore terminal, the user's card company apparatus, the creditintermediary apparatus 11 and the card issuing company apparatus.

[0071] In the following explanation, similarly as in the case used inexplanation of the related art described above, it is assumed that auser uses his/her credit card, which is issued by the company B and isalso capable of being used in the affiliated store terminal of thecompany A, at the store in which the affiliated store terminal A1 isplaced.

[0072] First, with reference to FIG. 9, FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the processof the affiliated store terminal is explained below. In step S51, theCPU 21 of the affiliated store terminal A1 controls a card readercomprising the input unit 26 so as to read out a card number, aexpiration date and an issuer of a credit card from the credit card thatis presented by the user. For example, the card number and theexpiration date may be read out from a magnetic medium or any otherrecording medium disposed on the credit card. The issuer (the cardissuing company) is read as the upper six figures of the card numbers.

[0073] Alternatively, in the following explanation, the information withrespect to these card number, expiration date and issuer are referred ascard information according to need.

[0074] Next, in step S52, the CPU 21 of the affiliated store terminal A1obtains a security code and user attribution information. The securitycode comprises four or three figures, which are described following thecard number. Such security code may be, for example, indicated on asignature column by printing. These figures are inputted manually by anadministrator of the affiliated store terminal A1, for example, with theuse of a numeric-key included in the input unit 26 or by opticallyreading thereof.

[0075] In the instant example, the user attribution informationcomprises all or at least one of the month and the day except for theyear of the user's date of birth, the lower four figures of the user'shome telephone number, the last name of the user's name in katakana andthe first name of the user's name in katakana.

[0076] Needless to say, as the information with regard to the date ofbirth, the year may be further used in addition to the month and theday. In this case, the year may be represented as the four figures in adominical year or the lower two figures in a dominical year.

[0077] The user attribution information is inputted by the administratorof the affiliated store terminal A1 or the user by operating the inputunit 26 on the basis of user's declaration.

[0078] In step S53, the CPU 21 sends an authorization request to thecard company apparatus 2A, which is one of the user's card companyapparatuses. In this case, the card number, the expiration date and theissuer that are read in the processing in the step S51 and the securitycode and the user attribution information that are obtained in theprocessing in the step S52 are added to the authorization request.

[0079] When the authorization request is instructed, the CPU 21 controlsthe communication unit 29 so as to transmit the authorization request tothe card company apparatus 2A via the network 3.

[0080] As described later, Such a authorization request is transferredto the credit intermediary apparatus 11 from the card company apparatus2A (step S84 shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 13) and then, it is furthertransferred to the card company apparatus 2B from the creditintermediary apparatus 11 (step S103 shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 13).Then, the authorization result is transmitted to the credit intermediaryapparatus 11 from the card company apparatus 2B (steps S126, S127 shownin FIG. 12 and FIG. 14). After that, this authorization result istransferred to the card company apparatus 2A from the creditintermediary apparatus 11 (step S105 shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 14) andfurther, it is transferred to the affiliated store terminal A1 from thecard company apparatus 2A (step S86 shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 14).

[0081] Therefore, in the step S54, the CPU 21 receives the authorizationresult that is transferred from the card company apparatus 2A. In thiscase, the confirmation results of the security code and the userattribution information are also transmitted together with theauthorization result and these confirmation results are received inconjunction with the authorization result.

[0082] In the step S55, the CPU 21 determines whether or not theauthorization result received in the process of the step 54 indicatesthat the user's credit card has been authorized (authorization OK). Ifthe result shows the authorization OK, the process proceeds to step S56and the CPU 21 refers, for example, a store table which is stored in thestorage unit 28 as shown in FIG. 15.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 15, in this store table, the confirmationresults of the security code and the user attribution information andterms of use are defined. According to the example shown in FIG. 15, ina case that the purchase amount is a hundred thousand yen or more, andall of the date of birth, the telephone number, the last name inkatakana, the first name in katakana and the security code areconfirmed, the use of the credit card is allowed. In a case that thepurchase amount is ten thousand yen or more (but less than one hundredthousand yen), it is needed to confirm the date of birth, the last namein katakana and the security code. In a case that the purchase amount istwo thousand yen or more (but less than ten thousand yen), it is onlyneeded to confirm the date of birth. In a case that the purchase amountis less than two thousand yen, the use of the credit card is allowedwithout confirming any of the user attribution information and thesecurity code.

[0084] As described above, the authorization result obtained in the stepS54 includes these confirmation results of the security code and theuser attribution information. Therefore, in step S57, the CPU 21compares these confirmation results with the store table that isreferred to in the step S56, so that the CPU 21 determines whether ornot the confirmation results satisfy the conditions defined in the storetable.

[0085] If the conditions are satisfied, the process proceeds to step S58and the CPU 21 executes a sales process. In other words, theadministrator of the affiliated store terminal A1 inputs an instructionnecessary for complete sale transaction of the purchased amount by theuse of the credit card by operating the input unit 26. Then, thecommodity sold by the use of the credit card may be handed to the user,or any other procedures required to complete the sales may be performed.

[0086] On the other hand, in a case that the authorization result doesnot indicate the authorization OK in the step S55 (namely, in the casethat the authorization result is determined as the authorization NG).and in a case that the security code and the user attributioninformation are determined as not to satisfy the conditions defined inthe store table in the step S57, the process proceeds to step S59 andthe CPU 21 executes a sales refusal process. In other words, in thiscase, the administrator of the affiliated store terminal A1 refuses thesales of the commodity because the authorization result is NG or even ifthe authorization result is OK, the conditions defined in the storetable are not satisfied (for example, the date of birth presented by theuser does not match to the registered date of birth when the purchaseamount is one hundred thousand yen or more). Accordingly, in this case,the user cannot purchase the commodity by using the credit card.

[0087] Each store is capable of deciding the conditions of the storetable shown in FIG. 15 uniquely. For example, it is necessary that allof five conditions are satisfied in the case of the purchase of onehundred thousand yen or more by the use of the credit card in the storeof the affiliated store terminal A1. However, in the affiliated storeterminal A2, the conditions may be redefined to relax the requiredcondition in such a way, for example, that the purchase of one hundredthousand yen or more is allowed even if only three out of fiveconditions are satisfied.

[0088] Next, with reference to FIG. 10, FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, process ofthe card company apparatus 2A, which is one of the user's card companyapparatuses, to be executed in accordance with the above-mentionedprocess of the affiliated store terminal A1 is explained below.

[0089] In step S81, receiving the authorization request from theaffiliated store terminal A1 (i.e., the request outputted in the processof the step S53), the CPU 21 of the card company apparatus 2A determineswhether or not the card company A can authorize the use of the user'scredit card by itself. Specifically, it is determined whether or not theuser's credit card has been issued by the card company A. As explainedwith reference to FIG. 9, the issuer of the credit card is read (thestep S51) and transferred together with the authorization request.Therefore, by determining whether or not the issuer information of thecredit card accompanied by the authorization request (i.e., the uppersix figures of the card number) indicates a value representing the cardcompany A itself, it becomes possible to determine whether or not theauthorization can be executed.

[0090] In the case that the authorization can be executed (namely, inthe case that the card company A itself issues the user's credit card,of which authorization is requested), the process proceeds to step S88and the CPU 21 executes the authorization process. The informationnecessary for the authorization process has been stored in a database ofthe storage unit 28 in advance.

[0091] On the other hand, in step S82, in the case that it is determinedthat the card company A itself cannot execute the authorization (in thecase that other company issues the user's credit card), the processproceeds to step S83 and the CPU 21 determines whether or not it ispossible to request mediation of the authorization request to the creditintermediary apparatus 11. In order to use the credit intermediaryapparatus 11, it is necessary for each card company to register oneselfin the credit intermediary apparatus 11. In the case that thisregistration has been already finished, it becomes possible to mediatethe authorization request to the credit intermediary apparatus 11. Onthe other hand, in the case that the issuer oneself has not beenregistered in the credit intermediary apparatus 11 yet, it is notpossible to mediate the authorization request to the credit intermediaryapparatus 11. In this case, the process proceeds to step S87 and the CPU21 carries out the process of forwarding the authorization request tothe CAFIS. Accordingly, the process in this case is the same as theprocesses of the cases shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6.

[0092] In step 83, in the case that it is determined that theauthorization request can be mediated by the credit intermediaryapparatus 11, the process proceeds to step S84 and the CPU 21 carriesout the process of forwarding the authorization request to the creditintermediary apparatus 11. More specifically, the CPU 21 controls thecommunication unit 29 and transmits the data of the authorizationrequest to the credit intermediary apparatus 11 via the network 3.

[0093] In accordance with this process, as described later, the creditintermediary apparatus 11 further forwards the authorization request tothe card company apparatus 2B, and an authorization result that has beenexecuted by the card company apparatus 2B is transferred from the creditintermediary apparatus 11 (step S105 shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 14).

[0094] In step S85, the CPU 21 receives the authorization result that istransmitted from the credit intermediary apparatus 11. Further, in stepS86, the CPU 21 transfers the authorization result received in the stepS85 or the authorization result executed by itself in the step S88 tothe affiliated store terminal A1. In the step S54 shown in FIG. 9, thisauthorization result is received by the affiliated store terminal A1.

[0095] Next, with reference to FIG. 11, FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the processof the credit intermediary apparatus 11 to be executed in accordancewith the above-mentioned process of the card company apparatus 2A isexplained. In step S101, the CPU 21 of the credit intermediary apparatus11 receives the authorization request that is transmitted in the processof the step S84 shown in FIG. 10. This authorization request includesthe security code and the user attribution information. Needless to say,it also includes the card number, the expiration date and the issuer,which are read from the user's credit card.

[0096] In step S102, the CPU 21 confirms the issuer included in theauthorization request, which is received in the step S101. Then, in stepS103, the CPU 21 further forwards the authorization request to theissuer that is confirmed in the process in the step S102 (in this case,the card company apparatus 2B). This authorization also includes thecard number, the expiration date and the issuer in addition to thesecurity code and the user attribution information.

[0097] The credit intermediary apparatus 11 has an intermediary centerdatabase at the storage unit 28 as shown in FIG. 16 in order to performthe above-mentioned processes. This intermediary center databaseconsists of a card company master and a D/e-SCOTT (registered trademark)connecting company master.

[0098] As shown in FIG. 17, for example, an identification information(ID) of the issuer of the credit card and the card company name arestored in association with each other in the card company master.According to an example shown in FIG. 17, it is stored that the cardcompany name with the issuer ID of “123456” is the company A, the cardcompany name with the issuer ID of “555555” is the company B and thecard company name with the issuer ID of “987654” is the company C,respectively.

[0099]FIG. 18 shows a configuration example of a D/e-SCOTT master. Asshown in FIG. 18, in this master, for each issuer ID, IP (InternetProtocol) addresses of the card company apparatuses 2A, 2B and 2C, whichare administrated respectively by each card company with each issuer ID,and the affiliated store company codes are stored in association witheach other. According to this example, for example, the IP address ofthe card company with the issuer ID of “123456” is “211.239.101.201” andits affiliated store company code is “35210025561”.

[0100] The CPU 21 identifies the card company name from the issuer ID ofthe card company master and reads the IP address corresponding to theissuer ID of the D/e-SCOTT master, so that the CPU 21 obtains the IPaddress on the network 3 of the card company apparatus of the specifiedcard company. Hence, in this case, the CPU 21 is capable of furtherforwarding the authorization request to the card company apparatus 2B ofthe company B.

[0101] The upper six figures among the eleven figures of the affiliatedstore company code represent an affiliated store identification code andthe lower five figures thereof represent a company code, which isallocated to each company by a distribution development center (aservice mark is registered). The affiliated store company code is usedto identify from what merchant the electronic message is transmitted(namely, identify the affiliated store (i.e., the card issuing company)in this system).

[0102]FIG. 19 shows a format of an electronic message to be transmittedand received between the credit intermediary apparatus 11 and the cardcompany apparatuses 2A, 2B and 2C. As shown in FIG. 19, at a headthereof, the data of three bytes representing a field length of theelectronic message is stored and after that, the required numbers of subfields are added. The sub field consists of a tag field of three bytes,a length field of three bytes and a necessary value field. Further, thenumber of the sub field may be decided arbitrarily.

[0103]FIG. 20 shows a more detailed configuration of one sub field.According to this example, a value of S01 is stored in the tag field anda value of 46 is stored in the length field. In the value field, thesecurity code, the date of birth and the home telephone number arerepresented by four figures, respectively and the last name in katakanaand the first name in katakana are represented by the fifteen letters,respectively.

[0104] Then, each matching result code of the date of birth, the hometelephone number, the last name in katakana and the first name inkatakana is represented as one figure.

[0105]FIG. 21 shows an example of a matching result code. The value of“0” represents matching, namely, represents that the value of the itemis matched to the inputted content, the value of “1” representsun-matching, namely, represents that the value of the item is notmatched to the inputted content and the value of “8” represents thatmatching is not applicable, namely, represents that matching of thevalue of the item is not performed because a space is not set therein.Additionally, the value of “9” represents that matching is notavailable, namely, represents that it is not possible to match becausethe card is an affiliated credit card, a corporate card and othercompany's card or the like or that it is a matching unavailable card.

[0106] The initial value of the security code to the matching resultcode shown in FIG. 20 is defined as a space.

[0107] As described above, if the credit intermediary apparatus 11further forwards the authorization request to the card company apparatus2B, as described later, the card company apparatus 2B transmits theauthorization result (steps S126 and S127 shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 14).

[0108] Then, in the step S104, the CPU 21 of the credit intermediaryapparatus 11 receives the authorization result, which has beentransmitted from the card company apparatus 2B.

[0109]FIG. 22 shows an example of an electronic message, which istransferred to the card company apparatus 2B from the creditintermediary apparatus 11 in this way and an example of an electronicmessage, which is returned to the credit intermediary apparatus 11 fromthe card company apparatus 2B in response to the transferred electronicmessage. According to this example, in the case that the electronicmessage is transmitted from the credit intermediary apparatus 11 to thecard company apparatus 2B, in the items of the security code, the dateof birth, the home telephone number, the last name in katakana and thefirst name in katakana, the corresponding values are described,respectively. However, in the case that there is no input, these itemsare spaced. The items in the matching results 1 to 4 (the matchingresults of the date of birth to the name in katakana) are spaced becausethe matching has not been performed yet.

[0110] On the other hand, in the electronic message to be transmitted tothe credit intermediary apparatus 11 from the card company apparatus 2B,five items from the security code to the name in katakana are requiredto “guarantee contents of a request electronic message”. In other words,in these items, the contents of the transmitted electronic message arecopied as there are.

[0111] In the columns from the matching result (1) to the matchingresult (4), a matching result (a matching result code shown in FIG. 21)is set.

[0112]FIG. 23 shows an example in the case that the authorization is tobe cancelled. In this case, all of respective items from the securitycode to the matching result (4) of the electronic message to betransmitted to the card company apparatus 2B from the creditintermediary apparatus 11 are spaced.

[0113] On the contrary, in the electronic message to be transmitted tothe credit intermediary apparatus 11 from the card company apparatus 2B,five items from the security code to the name in katakana are regardedas identical with the content of the request electronic message, so thatthe matching results (1) to (4) are all spaced.

[0114] Returning to FIG. 11, if the authorization result is receivedfrom the card company apparatus 2B in the step S104 as described above,the CPU 21 transfers this authorization result to the card companyapparatus 2A in the step S105.

[0115] As described above, this authorization result is furthertransferred from the card company apparatus 2A to the affiliated storeterminal A1 (the step S86 in FIG. 10 and FIG. 14).

[0116] Next, with reference to FIG. 12 to FIG. 14, the process of thecard company apparatus 2B to be performed in response to theabove-mentioned process of the credit intermediary apparatus 11 isdescribed below.

[0117] In step S121, receiving the re-forwarded authorization request,which has been transmitted in the process of the step S103, from thecredit intermediary apparatus 11, the CPU 21 of the card companyapparatus 2B executes the authorization process in step S122. In thedatabase of the card company apparatus 2B, the user information of theuser, to whom the credit card is issued by the company B, is stored andon the basis of this information, the card company apparatus 2B executesthe authorization process of this user.

[0118] Next, in step S123, the CPU 21 determines whether or not theauthorization result is the authorization OK. In the case that theauthorization result is the authorization OK, the process proceeds tostep S124 and the CPU 21 determines whether or not the use of thesecurity code in the determination result of the authorization areinstructed by the administrator of the card company apparatus 2B. Inother words, the administrator of the card company apparatus 2B operatesthe input unit 26 in advance to store information regarding whether ornot the security code is used for the determination of the authorizationprocess in the storage unit 28. The CPU 21 performs this determinationprocessing in accordance with such information stored.

[0119] In the case that the use of the security code is instructed, theprocess proceeds to step S125 and the CPU 21 determines whether or notthe security code included in the electronic message, which wastransmitted from the credit intermediary apparatus 11 and was receivedin the step S121, accords with the security code stored in the databaseas the security code of the user. In the case that both of them accordwith each other, the process proceeds to step S126 and the CPU 21generates the authorization result indicating the authorization OK andtransmits it to the credit intermediary apparatus 11.

[0120] In step S124, in the case that it is determined that the use ofthe security code is not instructed, in step S126, the authorizationresult of the authorization OK is transmitted to the credit intermediaryapparatus 11.

[0121] On the other hand, in step S123, in the case that theauthorization result is determined as not the authorization OK (i.e., inthe case that the authorization result is determined as NG) and in thecase that the security code received in the step S125 does not complywith the stored security code, the process proceeds to step S127 and theCPU 21 generates the authorization result of NG and transmits it to thecredit intermediary apparatus 11.

[0122] In the above-mentioned examples, the card issuing companyexecutes the authorization process, however, the credit intermediaryapparatus 11 may also execute the authorization process. FIGS. 24 to 26show the processing examples of this case.

[0123] The process of the affiliated store terminal A1 in this case isthe same as the case shown in FIG. 9 and the process of the card companyapparatus 2A is the same as the case shown in FIG. 10. The process ofthe card company apparatus 2B is not required in this case.

[0124] An example of processing of the credit intermediary apparatus 11is described below. In step S201, receiving the forwarded authorizationrequest that is transmitted in the process in the step S84 from the cardcompany apparatus 2A, the CPU 21 of the credit intermediary apparatus 11confirms the issuer that issued the card to be authorized in step S202.Processes of the steps S201 and S202 are the same as the processes inthe steps S101 and S102 shown in FIG. 11,

[0125] Hereinafter, processes of steps S203 to S208 are performed. Theseprocesses correspond to the processes that have been performed by thecard company apparatus 2B as the processes of steps S122 to S127 shownin FIG. 12.

[0126] In other words, in the step S203, the CPU 21 of the creditintermediary apparatus 11 executes the authorization process on thebasis of the database of the issuer confirmed in the process of the stepS202. More specifically, in the case of this process, the storage unit28 of the credit intermediary apparatus 11 stores the user information(i.e., the information necessary for the authorization processing) ofusers or clients of each card company in advance.

[0127] Next, in the step S204, the CPU 21 determines whether or not theauthorization is OK. Then, if the authorization is OK, in the step S205,it is determined whether or not the use of the security code in theauthorization process is instructed by the card company. If the use ofthe security code is instructed, the process proceeds to the step S206and the CPU 21 determined whether or not the security code included inthe authorization request matches to the security code of the userregistered in advance. In the case that both of them are matched, theprocess proceeds to the step S207 and the CPU 21 generates theauthorization result of the authorization OK and transmits it to thecard company apparatus 2A.

[0128] In the case that it is determined that the use of the securitycode is not instructed in the process of the step S205, the process ofthe step S207 is performed and the authorization result of theauthorization OK is transmitted to the card company apparatus 2A.

[0129] On the other hand, in the step S204, in the case that theauthorization result is determined as not the authorization OK (i.e., inthe case that the authorization result is determined as NG) and in thecase that these two security codes do not accord with each other in thestep S206, the process proceeds to step S208 and the CPU 21 generatesthe authorization result of NG and transmits it to the card companyapparatus 2A.

[0130] As described above, according to this example, the card issuingcompany of each credit card is capable of executing the authorizationprocess of the credit card that is issued by other company with simplyprocessing and high reliability in the case that each credit cardcompany forms an affiliation with other credit card company.

[0131] According to the above-mentioned explanation, in order to feedthe user attribution information, a channel different from the CAFIS isemployed. However, each card company apparatus or the affiliated storeterminal may be connected to the credit intermediary apparatus by usingthe CAFIS. In this case, however, it is not possible to transmit theuser attribution information under the current specification of theCAFIS, so that, in the step S103 shown in FIG. 1, the creditintermediary apparatus forwards the electronic message only consistingof the credit card number without including the user attributioninformation therein.

[0132] Additionally, in the above-mentioned explanation, although thecredit electronic message is fed to the credit intermediary apparatusfrom the affiliated store terminal via the user's card companyapparatus, the credit electronic message may be directly transmitted tothe credit intermediary apparatus from the affiliated store terminal. Inthis case, in FIGS. 13, 14, 25 and 26, the affiliated store terminalserves as the affiliated terminal and the user's card company apparatusshown in these drawings. In other words, the process of the user's cardcompany apparatus is performed by the affiliated store terminal.

[0133] The above-mentioned series of processes may be performed by ahardware, however, it also may be performed by a software. In the caseof performing a series of processes by the software, a program composingthis software is installed from the network and the recording medium ina computer that is built in a dedicated hard ware or in an all-purposepersonal computer or the like capable of executing various functions byinstalling various programs.

[0134] As shown in FIG. 8, separately from the apparatus itself, thisrecording medium not only consists of a package media comprising themagnetic disk 41 (including a floppy disk) to be distributed to the userfor offering the program to the user, in which the program is recorded,the optical disk 42 (including a CD-RM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory),a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk)), the optical magnetic disk 43 (includinga MD (Mini-Disk)), or the semiconductor memory 44, but also it consistsof the ROM 22 to be offered to the user as incorporated in the apparatusitself in advance, in which the program is recorded, and a hard wareincluded in the storage unit 28.

[0135] Alternatively, in the present specification, the steps describingthe programs recorded in the recording medium include not only theprocesses to be performed in the described order in time series but alsoinclude the processes to be performed not necessarily in time series butin parallel or individually.

[0136] Additionally, in the present specification, a system representsan entire construction of apparatuses consisting of a plurality ofapparatuses.

[0137] Although the present invention has been described in itspreferred form with a certain degree of particularity, obviously manychanges, combinations and variations are possible therein. It istherefore to be understood that the present invention may be practicedotherwise than as specifically described here in without departing fromthe scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A credit intermediary system comprising a first,second and third information processing apparatuses to be connected witheach other through a network, wherein: said first information processingapparatus transmits a credit electronic message including a credit cardnumber to said second information processing apparatus; said secondinformation processing apparatus determines an issuing credit companythat issued said credit card on the basis of said credit card numberincluded in said credit electronic message received and transmits saidcredit electronic message to said third information processing apparatusdisposed in said issuing credit company; said third informationprocessing apparatus executes a credit authorization process on thebasis of said credit electronic message received and transmits a resultof credit authorization process to said second information processingapparatus; and said second information processing apparatus transmitssaid result of credit authorization process received to said firstinformation processing apparatus.
 2. A credit intermediary apparatus forperforming credit-intermediacy process between an issuing credit companysystem and one of a user's credit card company system and an affiliatedstore system, said credit intermediary apparatus comprising: receivingmeans for receiving a credit electronic message including a credit cardnumber from one of said user's credit card company system and saidaffiliated store system; credit request means for determining an issuingcredit company that issued said credit card on the basis of said creditcard number included in said credit electronic message that is receivedby said receiving means, outputting a credit electronic messagecorresponding to said credit electronic message to said issuing creditcompany system for requesting a credit authorization; and transmittingmeans for receiving a result of credit authorization process withregards to said credit authorization requested by said credit requestmeans from said issuing credit company system, and transmitting saidresult of credit authorization process to one of said user's credit cardcompany system and said affiliated store system.
 3. The creditintermediary apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: said creditelectronic message includes at least one of a card holder's attributioninformation and a security code of said credit card.
 4. The creditintermediary apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: said card holder'sattribution information includes at least one of information withrespect to a birth date of a card holder of said credit card,information with respect to a telephone number of said card holder,information with respect to a last name of said card holder andinformation with respect to a first name of said card holder.
 5. Acredit intermediary method of a credit intermediary apparatus forperforming credit-intermediacy process between an issuing credit companysystem and one of a user's credit card company system and an affiliatedstore system, said credit intermediary method comprising: a receivingstep for receiving a credit electronic message including a credit cardnumber from one of said user's credit card company system and saidaffiliated store system; a credit requesting step for determining anissuing credit company that issued said credit card on the basis of saidcredit card number included in said credit electronic message that isreceived in said receiving step, outputting a credit electronic messagecorresponding to said credit electronic message to said issuing creditcompany system for requesting a credit authorization; and a transmittingstep for receiving a result of credit authorization process with regardsto said credit authorization requested in said credit request step fromsaid issuing credit company system, and transmitting said result ofcredit authorization process to one of said user's credit card companysystem and said affiliated store system.
 6. A recording medium in whicha computer-readable program for realizing a credit intermediaryapparatus is recorded, said computer-readable program performingcredit-intermediacy process between an issuing credit company system andone of a user's credit card company system and an affiliated storesystem, said program comprising: a receiving step for receiving a creditelectronic message including a credit card number from one of saiduser's credit card company system and said affiliated store system; acredit requesting step for determining an issuing credit company thatissued said credit card on the basis of said credit card number includedin said credit electronic message that is received in said receivingstep, outputting a credit electronic message corresponding to saidcredit electronic message to said issuing credit company system forrequesting a credit authorization; and a transmitting step for receivinga result of credit authorization process with regards to said creditauthorization requested in said credit request step from said issuingcredit company system, and transmitting said result of creditauthorization to one of said user's credit card company system and saidaffiliated store system.
 7. A program for allowing a computer to controla credit intermediary apparatus so as to perform credit-intermediacyprocess between an issuing credit company system and one of a user'scredit card company system and an affiliated store system, said programcausing said computer to perform: a receiving step for receiving acredit electronic message including a credit card number from one ofsaid user's credit card company system and said affiliated store system;a credit requesting step for determining an issuing credit company thatissued said credit card on the basis of said credit card number includedin said credit electronic message that is received in said receivingstep, outputting a credit electronic message corresponding to saidcredit electronic message to said issuing credit company system forrequesting a credit authorization; and a transmitting step for receivinga result of credit authorization process with regards to said creditauthorization requested in said credit request step from said issuingcredit company system, and transmitting said result of creditauthorization to one of said user's credit card company system and saidaffiliated store system.